The Girl in the Green Dress
by PrehistoricCat
Summary: A day at the funfair is Abby's worst nightmare.


**Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended**

**A/N: Written for the Autumn 2010 Primevalathon. Prompts: green dress, lonely, second time, rollercoaster**

* * *

_At the age of nine, Abby Maitland thought the world of her dad. She'd been looking forward to today for weeks, but had tried not to get her hopes up; he'd let her down before. There was always an excuse as to why he couldn't take her and Jack out as he'd promised, but it was still disappointing. It was even better today because it was going to be just her and her dad going to the annual funfair on the common. Jack was supposed to be going, but he'd caught measles and was confined to the house. _

"_Hurry up, Abby!" her father called._

"_Won't be a minute!" she shouted back. She took a final look at herself in the mirror; she was wearing her favourite dress that her dad had bought for her last Christmas. He said green suited her and that she looked like a princess in it. She had to wear it today, despite her mum saying it was far too cold._

_She ran down the stairs into her dad's arms. "Come on then, Princess." he said, taking her hand. The butterflies in Abby's stomach made her feel all nice and tingly inside. Today was going to be a great day - just her and her dad at the funfair._

-o-

Abby had had a feeling she was going to regret this from the moment she'd dragged herself out of bed. Somehow, Connor had persuaded her to go to the local funfair with him this afternoon - she hated everything about them; the smell, the noise, the crowds, the rides - especially the rides. She couldn't see the attraction in being thrown around, flipped upside down and having your stomach turned inside out. There were much better ways to get your thrills.

Connor was bouncing around the flat like an excited child; he'd been looking forward to this for weeks ever since he'd seen it advertised in the paper. "Do you think they'll have waltzers, Abby?" Connor said.

"Probably." Abby said, doing her best to sound enthusiastic. "Just don't expect me to go on them with you."

"Aw, Abby! Don't tell me you're scared!" Connor laughed. He moved close to her and whispered, "I'll hold your hand if you like?" Abby moved away and gave him a withering look. His smile dropped. "Fine. Your loss."

"I'm not scared, Connor. I just don't like fairgrounds, that's all. Now, if we're going to get there before the evening crowds start, we need to get going. Are you ready?"

Connor grabbed his jacket and grinned. "Let's do it!"

-o-

It was every bit as bad as Abby had imagined it would be. Within 10 minutes, the sickly smell of candy floss and toffee apples was making her feel nauseous; the loud music coming from each ride was giving her a headache and if one more person stepped on her toes she was going to punch them. This was all her nightmares rolled into one, but she was trying to enjoy herself for Connor's sake. She couldn't help but smile at his daft smile and wide eyes as they wandered around - despite the fact he was supposed to be a serious scientist and officially a genius, he revelled in the most simple things that other people just took for granted. He was infectious when he was in this sort of mood.

"Abby, look!" Connor exclaimed, pointing towards a rifle range. "I challenge you to a shoot off!" He was already halfway towards the stall before Abby could even reply. With a sigh, she followed him.

"You do know these things are a con?" she said. The stall holder handed her a rifle and set up a target for her.

"Stop making excuses, Abby!" Connor lifted his rifle and began to set up his first shot.

"I don't need excuses, Connor!" Abby glanced across at him and lifted her own rifle. "Bring it on!" They both fired their three shots and turned to smile at each other.

"Bad luck, miss." The stall holder handed her the target she'd been shooting at - all three of her shots had missed. Abby scowled at him; how dare he patronise her! If only he knew what she did for a living. Then Connor was handed his target. "Well done! One in the centre earns a prize - anything you like from the top shelf." Abby stared in disbelief - how had Connor managed to hit the target and she hadn't? Definitely a con she decided. Connor was punching the air and grinning from ear to ear as he picked out a small teddy bear. She was slightly bemused by his choice; Connor was not the 'cuddly toys' kind of person, but it all became clearer when she saw him stroll over to a mother with a small child in a pushchair and give the teddy to her.

As Connor made his way back over towards her, Abby suddenly felt more relaxed about being here. He might be a bit annoying at times, but then he goes and does something really sweet like he'd just done and he'd be forgiven. He was a decent guy at heart and as much as she hated to admit it, she liked having him around.

They continued to wander around, taking in the sights. Abby felt a little anxious as bad memories started to flash in her mind, but she pushed them aside. That was almost twenty years ago now; she'd been a child back then and now she was grown up. She faced scarier things on a daily basis; surely she could handle a funfair?

"Will you come on the roller coaster with me, Abby?" Connor said.

"I don't know if I …" she began, but then she stopped. Of course she could! "OK, I'll go on it with you."

Connor dragged her over to the queue and they waited for their turn. Connor was going on about something, but Abby's mind was elsewhere. This would only be the second time in her life that she'd been on a roller coaster.

-o-

_Abby felt so grown up. Her dad had said that she could go on the roller coaster all by herself - he didn't like them so he said he would get them something to eat and wait for her. She started chatting to another girl near to her in the queue and the two decided they'd sit together on the ride. The anticipation was almost too much, and as she climbed into the car her legs felt like jelly._

_The roller coaster was amazing! The feeling of speed and the force of gravity against her gave Abby such a high that her head was spinning. She looked down at one point and saw her dad waiting by the hot dog stand and tried to wave at him, before the ride twisted and threw her against the side of the car._

_Saying goodbye to her new found friend, Abby looked around for her dad. He wasn't by the exit, but then she remembered that she'd seen him by the hot dog stand so she made her way towards it. He wasn't there either, so she started to get a bit concerned. There were people everywhere, it was like a sea of bodies all moving in different directions. "Maybe I got mixed up." Abby thought. "Perhaps there's another hot dog stand on the other side of the roller coaster." _

_But there wasn't another hot dog stand to be seen, and there was no sign of her dad anywhere. Abby tried not to cry, but she suddenly felt very alone and scared. Where was he? Why couldn't she find him? Pushing her way through the crowds, she called out for him and panic was starting to set in. She struggled to breathe and began to feel sick._

-o-

Abby must have looked scared as she was helped inside the car, because Connor gave her a concerned look. "You don't have to do this, Abby." he said.

"No, I'm fine." she said, not entirely convincingly. Her entire body was shaking and her heart was pounding in her chest. It was almost a relief when Connor reached for her hand and squeezed it; at any other time she would have pushed him away, but she needed the reassurance that she wasn't alone this time.

The ride itself wasn't too bad, but Abby knew the worst bit was to come. She had kept hold of Connor's hand throughout; afraid she would lose him, but as they left the ride they had to let go. The staircase leading back down to the ground was only wide enough for one person, and Connor had gone ahead. Abby felt a stabbing pain in her chest - what if she couldn't find Connor? Then everything went black.

-o-

"_What's wrong sweetheart?" came a friendly voice. "Why are you hiding behind this caravan?"_

_Abby looked up and saw a kindly face. He was the balloon seller; they'd seen him earlier and her dad had suggested that they should get a balloon for Jack before they went home. He had big brown eyes that reminded her of the large teddy bear that sat on the end of her bed at home._

"_I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Abby replied, wiping the tears from her cheeks._

"_But I'm not a stranger , you just don't know me yet." the man said, then he shook his head. "Sorry, I don't expect you to understand that. Look, I want to help you, that's all. A little girl like you shouldn't be on your own."_

"_I can't find my dad!" Abby wailed. "He was supposed to be waiting for me when I came off the roller coaster."_

"_Well, let's see if we can find him together, eh?" the balloon seller said, holding out his hand. Abby took it and stood up. It went against everything she'd had drummed into her, but something told her she could trust this man. "What's your name?"_

"_Abby. Abby Maitland" she sniffed._

"_Pleased to meet you Abby Maitland. I'm… Nick." He led her by the hand back into the crowd and several minutes later, Abby spotted her dad and waved at him._

"_Abby! Princess! I've been going frantic!" Abby flung her arms around her dad's waist and sobbed hard. "Thank you for looking after her. When I couldn't find her after the ride ended, I feared the worst…"_

"_It's OK. She seems a good kid." The balloon seller said. "I should be going, I have to sell all of these tonight or my boss will go spare!" he grinned and tapped Abby on the shoulder. "Take care, Abby."_

"_Thank you Nick." she said, turning to face him._

"_Here, have a balloon. In fact, you'd better take one for your brother too." he handed her two balloons._

_Abby looked at him thoughtfully. "How did you know I have a brother?" she said, but he was gone before she'd even finished her question._

"_Come on, Princess. It's been a long day. Let's get some chips on the way home eh?" Abby smiled at her dad, relieved to be back with him._

-o-

"Abby?" She opened her eyes and looked straight up into the familiar chocolate brown ones of Connor. "Welcome back!"

"What happened?" Abby said. The last thing she remembered was walking down the steps from the roller coaster and then blacking out. Now she was in some kind of tent, laid on a bed.

"You must have had some kind of panic attack." Connor said. "You couldn't breathe, so I carried you to the first aid tent." he blushed slightly. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have dragged you onto the roller coaster when I could see you weren't keen."

"It's OK, Connor. It wasn't the roller coaster." Abby sighed, and for the first time since that day she related what had happened to her. Connor just smiled and listened, like he always did. As Abby got to the part about the balloon seller, she saw his cheeks redden slightly. Then it hit her - it was the eyes; the ones that reminded her of her old teddy bear. Surely he… "The balloon seller … that was you wasn't it!"

"Don't be daft, Abby! How could I be selling balloons at a funfair in Brighton when you were nine years old?" Connor laughed.

Abby glared at him. "You found an anomaly, you went through and came to help me." It made perfect sense.

"I hope you're not suggesting that I messed around with the past, Abby, because you know how against that I am." Connor said, his voice sounding a little strained.

Abby realised she was not going to get a straight answer from him. Maybe her memory of what had happened had altered over the years? Maybe because Connor was the one who looked out for her now, she just associated him with the balloon seller who had looked after her all those years ago? What if it had been Connor? Why had he gone to help her? Did something really bad happen to her and he had stopped it? She was probably never going to know for certain.

She sat up and leaned forward, kissing Connor on the cheek. "Thank you anyway." she whispered.

Connor's face turned a bright shade of red. There was an awkward silence, then Connor sighed. "You ready to go home? I've had enough I think."

Abby nodded, and stood up. "Can we get some chips on the way?"


End file.
